App Review: SmartPak SmartBlanket App

I am awful at figuring out what blanket to put on my ponies to keep them as snug as a bug in a rug. Considering I clip Ax during the winter, knowing which blanket to put is kind of important. I am forever asking the other boarders if they are blanketing or even calling my mom for her opinion. So when SmartPak released their SmartBlanket App, I thanked the horse blanketing gods.

The app is designed to “provide customized recommendations tailored to each horse and the local weather at your barn”. You begin by entering your horse’s name, birthday, and a photo. Next you select a coat length, body condition, and living situations. With options from unclipped to a full body clip and in the barn 24/7 to outside all day, it is extremely easy to personalize the app to your horse exactly.

Ax currently has a hunter clip, so his body is naked but his head and legs are furry. I classified him as “partially clipped”, if I babied him a little more I could have chosen “full body clip” since technically his body is clipped, but I like to blanket a little on the lighter side. He is a perfect weight right now, so I considered his body condition to be “close to ideal weight”. Lastly, he goes outside during the day and lives inside at night and there isn’t a twenty degree difference between the barn and outside. As Ax gets fuzzier, I can easily change any of these settings in the “Manage Horses” section of the menu.

Once you input all of your horse’s information, the SmartBlanket app gives you the temperature and conditions of the next week with a customized blanket recommendation for each day and night. The blanket options include a sheet, turnout sheet, medium weight, and heavyweight. The app also gives you an explanation of each type of blanket and a link to shop SmartPak online for that type of blanket.

(Hint: Don’t know if the blanket you have on is the right weight? Search it on SmartPak and see what category it falls under!)

The app also has other features that can be found in the left sidebar menu. These include blanketing tips, a blanket glossary to help identify different types of blankets, an article on how to measure for a blanket, and fit tips!

Long story short? I. LOVE. THIS. APP. If you have horse that you blanket, you need this app. Go download it. Right now. Thank me later.

-TC